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Jarome Iginla finally the right replacement for Nathan Horton

Last season, the Bruins tried to upgrade Nathan Horton’s position with Jarome Iginla. It didn’t happen.

Enough rehashing has been done about how it didn’t happen, and Horton was better in the postseason than Iginla or most guys in the league could have been. It worked out at the time, just like it’s working out now.

After a series of weird events -- Horton deciding to not negotiate with the Bruins following the seasons, Iginla not being re-upped in Pittsbugh, Daniel Alfredsson and Michael Ryder passing on offers from the Bruins, and lastly, Iginla reaching out through agent Don Meehan to play for the Bruins -- Iginla found his way to Boston this past offseason and has found himself in a role the Bruins likely had once upon a time envisioned for him.

As Iginla prepares to play at Consol Energy Center for the first time since the Bruins routed his Penguins, 6-1, in a game in which Horton scored what was technically the game-winning goal as part of a two-point night, he does so as a player much steadier (through 10 games, at least) than the guy who used to play to the right of David Krejci.

“I think it's pretty obvious that he's a consistent player,” Claude Julien said of Iginla. “When you look at his first 10 games, you see him every game. We liked Horty and we know he's a highly skilled player, but we also know that he had his fair share of ups and downs.

“Some games he'd be really good and some other games he wouldn't have much of an impact. We're getting consistency out of Jarome, and he's been really good. We know his leadership qualities and his personality blends in well with the rest of our hockey team.”

Julien’s words about Horton, though perhaps brutally honest, are true. Horton’s lulls during the regular season weren’t always limited to production, but engagement. He and Milan Lucic, who to a lesser degree had a tendency to disappear during games, could be a bad influence on one another in that way. If one of the first-line power forwards didn’t show up, it seemed, neither of them did.

With Iginla, the Krejci line has been unequivocally the Bruins’ best this season. With six goals, Lucic already is just one tally shy of matching his goal production over 46 games last season, while Krejci is off to the best start of his career with 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) through 10 games. Perhaps just as impressive with often-streaky Krejci is the fact that he’s had a point in every game but the Bruins’ shutout loss to the Avalanche on Oct. 10.

As for Iginla, he’s notched two goals and six helpers for eight points. He wasn’t able to find the back of the net for the first eight games of the season, but he was undoubtedly playing well and pulling his weight on the Krejci line.

“From my point of view, I’ve really enjoyed playing with them,” Iginla said of his fit on Krejci’s line with Lucic. “I think we’ve had a lot of zone time and puck possession. Not playing a lot in our own zone, as a winger -- as any player -- that’s what you want.

“I think we’ve created some chances. I think our chances have been pretty consistent, and I think we’re getting some more creative chances together too, which I think is a part of chemistry. … I think it can still get better and I think we’re going to keep working at it.”

Of course, the success of Krejci’s line isn’t solely due to swapping in Iginla for Horton. Julien likes that he’s seen a much more driven Lucic, and though he thinks Iginla is a reason for that, he isn’t the only one.

“You can say that, but at the same time I don't want to take away the credit that belongs to Looch, too,” Julien said. “He finished the season off extremely well last year, and he was determined to come back in good shape and start the way he finished last year. That was even before we had Jarome, so you've got to give him credit, too, but there's no doubt that when you have guys on your line that are playing well, [you play well].

“We could say the same thing for David. … David's been pretty good, too, since the start of the season. That whole line as a threesome has been as good and as consistent as I'd hoped they would be.”

Despite how good a fit Iginla has been, the Bruins still benefited from his decision last season. Even if the B’s were able to seal their deal with the Flames last and get Iginla time to get comfortable with the top line prior to the playoffs, they were undoubtedly better off with Horton skating with Krejci and Lucic.

Horton turned in a playoff performance that, coupled with his 2011 postseason, cemented him as one of the great postseason players this city has seen in the last decade. The 19 points Horton registered while injured tied for second among all postseason players, while his plus-20 was tops; nobody else had better than a plus-13.

There’s no telling where Krejci’s line will stand or whether Iginla will be able to hold a candle to Horton’s past success once the postseason comes, but for now, the first line that the B’s envisioned long ago looks as good as they envisioned it -- this season or last season.

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